The Dakar 2011, which finished last weekend in Buenos Aires, will be
remembered at KTM as one of the company's greatest triumphs in rally sport.
Not only the tenth consecutive win for the Austrian sports motorcycle
specialists but also a sensational ride by the company's two leading factory
riders who finished 1-2 in a two-way battle that kept the fans on their toes
throughout the entire rally.
The victory for Spaniard Marc Coma of the MRW KTM team was his third career

Dakar title. It was a measured, well-earned ride but by Marc's own admission
was tough all the way because he and fellow KTM factory rider Cyril Despres
(Red Bull KTM) never gave each other any ground until they got to the
finish.

KTM riders matched in skill and determination

There has rarely been a rally so competitively fought and one where the two
KTM riders, competing on the newly developed KTM Rally bike were so equal in
skill, tactics and determination. Despres and Coma were also head and
shoulders above the competition and long before the end of the journey it
was clear that this was to be a two-man race between equally skilled riders,
who now each have three of the coveted Dakar trophies. When the unfortunate
10 minute penalty incurred by Cyril in the early stages of the rally is
taken into consideration then both he and Marc were so closely matched
throughout the rally that they frequently came in minutes, sometimes even
seconds apart. The 33rd edition of this great event was also a fitting
tribute to the Austrian brand because seven of the top 10 riders were on
KTMs.

A triumph for KTM

The 2011 Dakar was nothing short of a triumph for KTM and a very strong
response to the surprise rule change introduced without warning by the Dakar
organizers in the middle of 2009, which restricted professional riders from
competing on bikes exceeding 450 ccm. This was widely seen as an attempt to
break the KTM stranglehold on the title and as a result, Despres and Coma
competed in the 2010 on the KTM 690 rally bike fitted with restrictors to
reduce the performance down to the equivalent of a 450 ccm machine. It
didn't make any difference to the outcome and Cyril Despres took his third
title. KTM's response to the rule change was to have their R&D department go
into top gear to design a Dakar competitive 450 ccm rally bike. The new KTM
450 Rally Replica was therefore the result of intense work by the KTM R&D
department, with valuable input by both Coma and Despres, including hundreds
of hours of testing. The bike made its first appearance in the autumn of
2010 where Despres rode it to victory in the desert sands of the Rally of
Morocco.

New era in rally sport for KTM

The overwhelming success of the two KTM riders and the 450 Rally bike also
heralds a new era for KTM in rally sport. As soon as the final result was
announced, there was a strong message from the company headquarters in
Mattighofen, Austria that the production model of the new bike would begin
immediately and that KTM would use the Dakar Rally as its major marketing
platform as it launches into a much more aggressive era in the sport. KTM
CEO Stefan Pierer said the company had not only developed the best rally
bike on the market but also planned to introduce new and interesting
packages for both rally teams and individual rally enthusiasts. He added
that KTM wanted to see riders from as many countries as possible on the new
KTM Rally Replica.

Best bike; best riders

The 2011 edition was a concrete example of how competitive the bike could be
in the hands of the two best exponents of rally sport so it is worthwhile
reflecting on the highlights of what turned out to be 14 days of thrilling
competition that ended as a triumph for the Austrian brand.

How the Dakar 2011 unfolded

The first competitive stage from Victoria started with 566 km on the road
and a relative short special of 192 km. At the end of the day it was Despres
co-rider Ruben Faria who was fastest across the line but Despres was
retroactively awarded the stage win after Faria was handed a one minute time
penalty. Despres and Coma therefore finished 1-2 and they were just 1 minute
apart. The third rider was Coma's co-rider Juan Pedrero of Spain.

Despres opened the road for Stage Two as riders headed from Cordoba to San
Miguel and although closely shadowed by Coma, succeeded in taking his second
stage win. After 440km on the road and a 300 km special where they headed
into the forest, Cyril was just 1:49 faster than Marc and only 2 minutes 35
separated the two. The next day it was Coma who took the stage coming in
2:21 ahead of Despres who stayed in front of the standings by only 14
seconds after a mammoth 521 km special through desert canyons and into the
forest.

Coma won Stage Four when riders crossed the Andes into Chile, again by the
smallest margin. He was 16 seconds faster than Despres and two seconds ahead
in the overalls. It was clear by now that this was going to be a dramatic
rally, especially after Despres received a retrospective 10 minute penalty
for failing to pass a marker flag in the haze of the early morning start.
Neither rider was to know that this point what this would mean for the final
results.

Coma and Despres continued to shadow each other during the tough rides in
the Atacama Desert and at the rest day after Stage Six Despres had reduced
the 10-minute penalty to 8:48, which after Stage Seven, he had carved down
to 7:24 after they had finished just over a minute apart. Deep in the sands
of Chile's coastal desert, Coma took Stage Eight with Despres less than two
minutes behind. The Spaniard also won Stage 10 and had extended his overall
lead to just over 18 minutes. Despres responded the only way he knows. He
won Stage 11 by 2:11 from Coma and cut the deficit to 16 minutes. His best
chance to close the gap was in the penultimate Stage 12 but this time Coma
won by just 37 seconds to hold onto the overall. He then closed off his
third Dakar victory on arrival back in Buenos Aires.

Among the leaders at the end of the rally were Coma's water carrier Pedrero
in sixth place and Faria, Cyril's co-rider in eighth overall to round off a
sensational ride for the MRW KTM factory team of Coma and Pedrero and the
Red Bull KTM team of Despres and Faria. The 2011 Dakar will go down in the
record books as one of the closest and hardest fought from the first to the
last stage.

The 2011 Dakar in numbers
10th consecutive title for KTM
Best bike in the Dakar 2011: the KTM 450 Rally Replica
3rd Dakar title for Marc Coma to equal the three titles of Cyril Despres
5 stage wins to Marc Coma
3 stage wins to Cyril Despres
9,500 km through Argentina and Chile
4837 m the highest point of altitude crossing the Andes
More than 250 km driven over an altitude of 4000 m
Hottest temperature: 42C in the shade in the Chilecito region
Coldest temperature 2C in the Calama region
15,000 kg of spare parts transported by the three KTM trucks
11,700 liters of fuel used by the three service trucks and three support cars
3,800 liters of fuel for the KTM bikes
300 liters of oil in total
Total amount of kilometers in KTM vehicles (bikes, trucks and cars) - 80,000 km in 14 days
60 rear wheels and 60 front wheels for the KTM bikes
During the 14 days (336 hours) of the rally no member of the KTM teams or support staff had more than 60 hours sleep
Number of liters of drinking water consumed by the team and support staff: 1400 liters